Kibera man who allegedly battered his wife charged with attempted murder
A Kibera man who allegedly assaulted and nearly strangulated his wife over suspicions of infidelity has been charged with attempted murder.
Mr Gregory Otieno, 28, is facing charges of attempting to kill Mercy Owuor in Soweto village in Kibera sub county, Nairobi on August 16. Mr Otieno is also facing an alternative charge of causing grievous harm to Ms Owuor. Both offences are punishable by life imprisonment.
On the material day, Ms Owuor had stepped out of the house to call her sister and speak to her child who lives at her rural home. Her husband suspected that she was talking to a man. After she returned to the house, an argument ensued between them with both accusing each other of infidelity.
Mr Otieno allegedly slapped the complainant, knocking her down next to a stove with boiling water. The boiling water poured on the floor and scalded Ms Owuor’s limbs.
Otieno is alleged to have picked the stove, poured the paraffin on the floor before he started to hit his wife on the head with it. He is alleged to have caused her injuries on the neck and head.
He reportedly took a cooking gas cylinder’s grill and assaulted her with it, inflicting more injuries on her hands as she tried to shield her head.
Ms Owuor was rescued by neighbours who threatened to break into the house after Mr Otieno declined to open the door. The neighbours found her in a pool of blood. They forced Mr Otieno to take her to hospital but she declined and disappeared.
At the Kibera Law Courts, Mr Otieno denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Derrick Kutto. He pleaded for lenient bail and bond terms to be able to take care of his family during his trial.
But prosecution counsel Allan Mogere opposed cash bail terms and asked the court to release the suspect on stringent bond terms without option of a cash bail. The accused was granted a bond of Sh500,000 with an additional surety of a similar amount, without the alternative of a cash bail.
The case will be mentioned on September 6, 2022 for a pre-trial and fixing of hearing dates.